Chelsea Owens navigates a kayak down a flooded street near her home in Gulf Breeze, Fla., on Thursday. Much of the East and parts of the South have been hit by torrential rains. Florida's Panhandle and southern Alabama, for example, got about 2 feet of rain in 24 hours.

People gather to view floodwaters from the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. Flood warnings Thursday stretched from Mississippi to Massachusetts.

Matt RourkeAP

Originally published on May 1, 2014 11:14 am

Extreme rainfall in much of the East and parts of the South is causing major problems, with Florida's Panhandle and southern Alabama — which got more than 2 feet of rain in 24 hours — bearing the brunt of the onslaught.

Flood warnings for today stretch from Massachusetts to the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. The Associated Press says the system is expected to bring heavy rain and thunderstorms to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions.

In Pensacola, Fla., it was the single rainiest day ever recorded, and people climbed to rooftops or into attics to escape the rising floodwaters. NPR's Debbie Elliot says Pensacola's high bluffs over the bay undermined the busy scenic highway there.

"Scores of motorists were stranded as water gushed over roads," she reports on Morning Edition. "At least one person was killed on a flooded roadway. Some homes are now flooded out, and entire neighborhoods are unnavigable. Boats have floated away from docks and are making landfall elsewhere."

The Pensacola News Journal quotes Ben Kitzel, who was out in a kayak with his black Labrador retriever, Abby, on board: "There's no way this flooding is going away anytime soon," he told the newspaper. It adds:

"Kitzel said he awoke about 6 a.m on Wednesday to find a foot of water in parts of his family's house near Fairpoint Drive."

Bob Barrett of NPR member station WUWF reports that in the Pensacola suburb of Gulf Breeze, officials "are still trying to access the situation and find people who need help."

"All Gulf Breeze police and fire officers have been called into work, helping with traffic control and taking care of any emergencies," Barrett said. "Some elderly and disabled residents needed help leaving their homes."

AL.com reports: "The Salvation Army will be out in Baldwin County Thursday. There are two feeding units and a disaster team in the southern part of the county. The mobile kitchens will make their way from Gulf Shores to Foley and back to Fish River, according to a spokeswoman for the Salvation Army."

In Maryland, state officials are helping to evacuate hundreds of residents of a senior apartment complex in the city of Laurel after rising water levels behind a nearby dam caused water to spill through a gap in the structure. Officials have been forced to open all seven flood gates.